Mexico's national team player head coach Javier Aguirre talks to his players prior a training session. - AP Photo
Mexico, Uruguay need only draw to advance in World Cup
Mexico and Uruguay need only a draw in their Group A match Tuesday to qualify for the next round of the World Cup, so both may choose to play cautiously to ensure they advance.
Mexico and Uruguay each have four points, while South Africa and France both have one point apiece. Both France and the host nation will be eliminated from the World Cup if Mexico and Uruguay draw.
Mexico has fielded attacking lineups in its two previous matches, in a 4-3-3 formation.
The strategy has won praise from pundits and other teams. Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino has said that Mexico is the best team he’s seen at the tournament so far.
The biggest decision Mexico coach Javier Aguirre will have to make for Tuesday’s match at Royal Bafokeng Stadium is who will be in his forward line.
Aguirre may choose to go with youngster Javier Hernandez over veteran Guillermo Franco, who started in Mexico’s 1-1 draw against South Africa in the opening match and the 2-0 win over France.
But it was the 22-year-old Hernandez who made headlines when he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather who scored in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland by scoring the opening goal as a substitute against France.
Carlos Vela, who also started in the two previous matches, is not available because of a right leg injury, according to the Mexico football federation website. Aguirre may decide to go with Pablo Barrera, the forward who replaced Vela when he was injured late in the first half against France.
Barrera impressed against France in his first World Cup appearance and is a strong candidate to fill in. The forward believes Mexico shouldn’t be planning for a draw, but instead chase victory.
“We have to go for the three points to be certain about qualifying,” Barrera said. “We have to always do our best in each match and of course we want the three points.”
Mexico has an inferior goal difference to Uruguay, meaning it will finish second in the group in the event of a draw, and then would likely face a dominant Argentina in the round of 16. Aguirre will also be without midfielder Efrain Juarez, who is suspended after picking up two yellow cards.
Uruguay, meanwhile, was talking tough before the match.
“Mexico will be a difficult rival just as all the teams in the World Cup,” defender Diego Godin said. “They play good football, but we have the weapons to destroy their game and we know how to cause them damage.”
Uruguay has played well defensively and not conceded a goal in its two matches. The first match was a drab 0-0 draw against France, and Uruguay then beat South Africa 3-0.
Godin hopes Uruguay can keep up its defensive record against Mexico, saying a draw would suffice.
“We have not conceded a goal so far and that is very important,” he said. “If we do the same against Mexico, then we will have progressed to the next round and anything can happen from then on.”
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez announced Sunday that the team’s starting lineup will be the same as the one used in the win over South Africa. Forwards Diego Forlan, who scored twice and set up another goal, and Luis Suarez will lead the attack.
KOREA AND NIGERIA SET FOR BATTLE
Nigeria may have lost both its games so far at the World Cup, but a win over South Korea on Tuesday could still see the Africans make it through to the round of 16.
Form side Argentina looks set to top Group B, needing only a draw against Greece in a simultaneous game Tuesday to lock up that spot.
The other three sides are all alive in the fight for second place.
Unless Greece upsets Argentina or secures a high-scoring draw, the Koreans will need only a draw against the Nigerians to make it through to the knockout stages.
Nigeria can make it by beating South Korea while relying on Argentina to win.
“The game against Nigeria last will not be easy … players must do more than they did in the last match,” Korea coach Huh Jung-moo said, referring to the 4-1 defeat by a rampant Argentina.
“We left them a backdoor open for attack,” he said. “We will be more solid and better organized in the last game.”
The Nigerians are eager to make up for their 2-1 loss to Greece, in a game turned by the 33rd-minute expulsion of Nigeria midfielder Sani Kaita for a senseless sideline foul when he kicked out at an opponent.
Kaita has publicly apologized over the incident that let the Greeks back in the game Swedish coach Lars Lagerback said his Nigerian team would keep fighting as long as they have a chance of getting out the group.
“The positive thing is that we still have a chance of qualifying, although we need a helping hand from Argentina,” Lagerback said. “We need a fresh start, and we’ll do that by beating (South Korea).”
Nigeria is among the African teams that have disappointed at a World Cup in which they were expected to shine on home soil. The African teams have only one win between them from 12 games.
The Koreans are playing in their seventh consecutive World Cup but have never made it out of their group except for when they co-hosted the tournament in 2002 and they reached the semifinals.
“We’re ready for the Nigerians. We’ve been thinking a lot about the Argentina game, now it’s time to clear our heads,” defender Cha Du-ri said. “Our batteries are charged and we’re all set for the match.”
SOUTH AFRICA RING CHANGES FOR FRANCE CLASH
South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said on Monday he would make sweeping changes for the final group clash against France but admitted the outcome was not in his hands.
The Bafana Bafana and France go into their match in Bloemfontein on Tuesday knowing that even a win could be irrelevant if group leaders Mexico and Uruguay play out a draw in their Group A game.
“There will be five changes in the team,” Parreira told reporters at the city’s Free State stadium.
The changes would include replacements for suspended players Kagisho Dikgacoi and goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune but the Brazilian coach refused to unveil his team.
“Mathematically, if Uruguay or Mexico, there is a winner there and there is a winner here of two goals difference it would be possible,” he said, referring to the chances of South Africa or France qualifying.
“I’m sure the players will not make a deal, ‘OK let’s draw this game.’
Maybe one of the two teams don’t want to play Argentina, they go for a win so we will never know what’s going on in their minds,” he added.
“The reality is that we don’t depend upon ourselves. We need other teams’ results. This doesn’t affect our motivation for the game,” he said.
He denied that becoming the first host nation in World Cup history to crash out at the first stage would be an embarrassment, saying South Africa had a tough group with two previous winners and a strong Mexico outfit.
“The group was very tough. I think it would be sad. It would be a disappointment but I do not consider it as a failure. One day it will happen.”
The coach, who led Brazil to the World Cup title in 1994, said the powerhouses of African football had also suffered in South Africa.
“I’ve participated in a number of World Cups in various capacities and I have never witnessed such a great number of what one might call shocking results,” he said.
And he said the tensions in the French camp would not affect the outcome of the match, adding: “Once the game starts the French will do everything in their power to win.”
The 1998 World Cup winners’ troubled campaign has been plunged into chaos after the players on Sunday refused to train in protest at the decision to send home star striker Nicolas Anelka.
There have also been claims of divisions in the South African team, with players from the eastern kwaZulu-Natal province allegedly unhappy with what they consider to be underperforming ‘superstars’ from Johannesburg and Pretoria.
But Parreira denied reports of rifts, saying: “We’ve never had any problems during the whole preparation.”
Captain Aaron Mokoena urged the fans to turn up in numbers in Bloemfontein.
“The fans have been incredible. They’ve been absolutely supportive to the team and that’s what we needed and I hope really tomorrow they will come in numbers to give the support we need.”
